That $30 trillion great wealth transfer is a myth

Boomers are more likely than other generations to take risks by investing some or all their retirement funds into starting their own business after leaving a corporate job, and they seek new and interesting ways to spend their retirement money that may or may not produce an income stream to help fund expensive retirement activities.

As part of that “you only live once” mentality, baby boomers spend more on nearly everything than today’s younger generations, up to $400 billion annually on consumer goods — everything from clothing and entertainment to home improvements — in addition to $120 billion on leisure travel. All of these expenditures and risks are compounded by the traditional costs of aging and the loss of a steady income in retirement.

Boomers also believe it’s now time they take care of themselves. Many boomers also feel that they can both support their families and enjoy their free time. After spending years supporting children and grandchildren with school tuition, and down payments for homes and cars, many boomers are now enjoying their money while they can.

According to a recent Gransnet survey of 1,000 grandparents ages 50–70, 1 in 6 plans to spend all their money before they die. Meanwhile, a Hearts and Wallets study of participants in their 50s and 60s found only 40 percent planned to leave inheritances, while 30 percent specifically expected to spend all their money.

Boomers are also more likely to gift their wealth to charitable causes, making the wealth transfer to heirs smaller than anticipated. And whatever they do to distribute these funds will likely be split up between multiple heirs and even the children of heirs.

So what does all this mean? Both wealth advisors and investors should avoid building expectations of a boomer payout. For advisors, betting on inheritance is already a risky proposition: The vast majority of inheritors fire their parents’ financial advisors upon receipt of their inheritance, and a growth strategy that rests solely on the boomer generation is no longer a growth strategy.